Avalon Antiques owner Bill Belmore, a founding member of the Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce, has died after a fight with cancer, the chamber announced in a June 27 letter to members.

“It's a huge loss,” Le Garage owner and chamber board member Cheryl Rust said July 1. “He brought great integrity and candor and humor to the meetings, and was so committed to Wiscasset and the business community.”

“He used all his energy and determination to help get the Chamber on its way to success,” board member Chip Davison wrote in last week's letter.

“Always willing to give a helping hand, word of advice or constructive criticism, he was ready to dig into committee work and board work with great zeal. Bill, you will be greatly missed by all of us,” Davison's letter continues.

In a series of interviews, business colleagues and others remembered Belmore with fondness for the man they knew and praise for his work to help local businesses and the larger community.

“Bill was a real go-getter,” Town Planner Misty Parker said. “And even when he wasn't feeling the best, he was still organizing events and getting other (chamber) members to participate …. He was very passionate about the chamber and the work they were doing for the community,” Parker said.

Belmore's widow Pam wanted to thank townspeople, the chamber and the Avalon Antiques family for raising money to build her husband a ramp at the couple's home in Wiscasset.

He died before the ramp could be finished, but everyone's support showed her husband how much he was loved, she said. “It meant so much to him and me.”

Avalon Antiques manager Sparky Lindsey said the business will continue as a legacy to the man she worked with from its opening eleven years ago.

The two learned together and she learned a lot from him, Lindsey said.

“That man could sell ice to an Eskimo.”

Susan Johns can be reached at 207-844-4633 or sjohns@wiscassetnewspaper.com.